Gov. John Hickenlooper is scheduled to testify at a U.S. Senate committee hearing about the "opportunities and challenges associated with America's natural gas resources" in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday morning

Hickenlooper, a onetime oil geologist, is one of a panel of witnesses invited to discuss that issue with the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, a member of the committee, is will introduce fellow Democrat Hickenlooper to the committee, according to Udall spokesman Mike Saccone.

Hickenlooper spokesman Eric Brown said in a Friday email that "we are still working on his testimony/remarks."

Other members of the witness panel are: American Petroleum Institute president Jack Gerard; Natural Resources Defense Council president Frances Beinecke; Dow Chemical Company chairman Andrew Liveris; Ross Eisenberg, the National Association of Manufacturers' vice president for energy and resources policy; and Kenneth Medlock, senior director for energy studies at Rice University's James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.

Hickenlooper's position that the oil and gas drilling process of hydraulic fracturing can be done safely has put him at odds with anti-fracking activists and some Colorado communities whose voters and local officials have sought to ban or restrict the procedure.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission sued Longmont over drilling regulations the City Council enacted last summer, and Hickenlooper said in December that the state would support anyone suing Longmont over a fracking ban the city's voters approved in November. The Colorado Oil and Gas Association subsequently filed such a lawsuit.

In Hickenlooper's Jan. 10 state of the state address, he cited the importance of energy development to the state's economy but said that "our physical welfare requires we protect public health and safety as we develop these resources."

Hickenlooper said in that speech that "the most effective way to do this is through uniform regulations and rule making. We know one size doesn't fit all, which is why the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission works with communities to create agreements and oversee local inspections. What doesn't work is a patchwork of rules and regulations."

When the Times-Call asked Saccone on Friday about Udall's position on fracking, he said in an email that the senator "believes that oil and gas development -- which is an important part of our economy and creates jobs across the state -- can be done without damaging our public health or environment.

"However, Sen. Udall wants to ensure that the public's concerns about fracking are addressed, and he support ongoing studies of the process and its effect," Saccone said. "Sen. Udall thinks that government has a role to play in providing strong oversight and requiring transparency when it comes to fracking."

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